Break
by Hyperactive Lioness
Summary: A chapter between chapter 13 and chapter 14 of "The Sharpest Lives". Alex is going to poof, and nobody has told her that they have a way of beating it. Will she stay in the FAYZ or vacate? Song is "Break" by Three Days Grace.


**Hola all of you! This... Might be a little strange for some of you. Let me explain.**

**I have a story. You might have read it, you might have not. It's called "The Sharpest Lives". And THIS little one-shot is for that story. Hence, if you want to go and read TSL before you read this, that might make sense. **

**Moving on. This is a little one-shot that happens after the thirteenth chapter of TSL. Originally, I was going to have this in Alex's blog on fayzofthemoon . blogspot . com, but this idea seemed too exciting to pass up... To me, at least. So, yeah. Enjoy the thirteenth and a half chapter of "The Sharpest Lives"!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own "GONE", that's Michael Grant's... And "Break" belongs to Three Days Grace... And Drake's emo thoughts belong to Drake... Who, in turn, belongs to Michael Grant... Jeez, can't I have ANYTHING around here? *Alex taps me on the shoulder* Oh, yeah, I have Alex! My day got a bit brighter! :)**

**DEDICATION: I dedicate this random thirteen-and-a-half chapter to the amazing readers and reviewers of "The Sharpest Lives"! You guys are made of pure awesomesauce!**

**Oh, and another thing... I totally made up Drake's birthday. I vaguely recall something in GONE about Drake thinking that his birthday was in a month, back before the big fight... *shrugs* Just roll wit' it.**

**And another, another thing... I won't be updating TSL until I get my copy of HUNGER back! ('Cause I need it to make sure the events are the same... And other technical stuff.) So, Isabella EstherRuth, read it and read it fast! :D**

**This author's note is WAY too long. Sorry. On with the tale.  
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**Chapter Thirteen-And-A-Half: Break**

Drake was walking down the hallways of Coates, thinking of all the events of the past week. He and Alex, working with the moofs... Blatantly defying Caine and Diana... Beating the poof...

Yes, just yesterday, he had decided to stay in the FAYZ.

It wasn't a very hard decision, actually. Drake was the kind of person who really liked knowing what was ahead. While he knew nothing about what would happen if he gave in to the green-fanged tempter, he knew exactly what he was getting if he stayed. He was getting a chance, a chance to be a major player in a game that Sam and Caine were already engaged in. A game that had been marked "fifteen and over".

Another reason for him staying was his soldiers. Drake would never admit it, but he really did care for those boys, in his own special way. He had taught them, watched them, helped them; he didn't want to abandon them when a fight was sure to be on the horizon.

His soldiers, and the moofs that he had helped to train along with Alex, were the--

Alex.

Drake halted in his tracks as the image of Alex collided with the rest of his thoughts. He had never told her. Diana had never told her. Caine had certainly never told her.

Alex didn't know how to beat the poof.

She was going to blink out; she was going to vacate, and he didn't know when. But didn't she once say something... Back when they first had met her... Caine had asked her when she was going to blink out, and she had said...

_Yeah, I poof in exactly a month._

And that was on Thanksgiving. The twenty-fourth. A month from Thanksgiving would be... Christmas Eve. Drake sighed with relief. Surely he'd know if it was Christmas Eve.

Just to make sure, he barred the way of some random kid with his whip-arm. "You. What's the date today?" The kid just about wet his pants.

"Um... Uh... Well... It's Christmas Eve. Yeah, that's it! The twenty-fourth."

Drake cursed, broke into a sprint, and rushed down the hallway, leaving the petrified kid behind. Every person he passed either hadn't seen Alex the entire day, or had no idea where she was. Drake was getting steadily more and more agitated, and Drake Merwin _never _got agitated; something Diana decided to comment on when they passed in the hallway.

"You sure are twitchy today."

Drake spun around. "Have you seen... Oh. It's you." Diana rolled her eyes.

"Yes. It's me. And _who _have I seen?"

"Alex."

Diana rolled her eyes again. "No, I haven't seen your "female friend"." She made air quotes with her fingers. "What, did you lose her? You two are usually attached at the hip."

"I don't have time for you today, Diana," Drake snarled. "Have you seen her or not?" His whip hovered menacingly above his head, and Diana half-glanced at it, wary.

"No, actually, I haven't. Why?" Drake didn't bother answering her, but took off running down the hall again. He didn't stop for anybody, and finally, he got desperate enough.

"ALEX!"

He yelled her name again and again, until someone ran down the hall to meet him. For a second he hoped... But it was the wrong Alex. It was Alex Barrino.

"Drake-man, what's happening?"

"Have you seen Alex, you know, the _other_ Alex?" Barrino shrugged, and Drake's eyebrows furrowed, the gray eyes underneath them stormy.

"I haven't seen her at all today. Where have you looked?"

"Everywhere." Barrino had never heard Drake sound so defeated. "All down here. The dining hall. The auditorium. The basement." Barrino shrugged again.

"Have you tried her room yet?"

Drake exhaled loudly and began running again, this time in the direction of where Alex stayed. Barrino smiled shrewdly.

"I'll take that as a thank you."

XxXxX

Drake paused outside of Alex's bedroom door, catching his breath. Running across Coates really _wasn't _a very good idea. Then, as soon as his hand was reaching for the doorknob, he heard a faint snatch of music. It was Alex, singing in her room. Drake let out a breath he hadn't realized his was holding. She hadn't poofed.

Not yet.

_"Tonight, my head is spinning," _Alex sang, unaware that Drake had opened the door a crack and was listening. _"I need something to pick me up... I've tried, but nothing is working, I won't stop, I won't say I've had enough..."_

She was listening to her iPod and singing along, as she was staring out the window. The afternoon sun was streaming into her room, but she didn't seem to notice or care.

_"Tonight, I start the fire, tonight, I break away... Break! Away from everybody, break! Away from everything, if you can't stand the way this place is, take! Yourself! To higher places..."_

Drake burst through the door, and Alex spun to meet him. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words caught in his throat.

Alex was crying, silvery lines running down her pale cheeks. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. She hugged him tighter thne he had expected, and he eventually pulled himself away from her grip.

"What on _earth_, Lucine?"

"'Bye," she said, sniffling a bit. "I'm gonna poof any minute now." Drake smirked.

"You seriously didn't think that you were _older _then me, did you?" Alex frowned, eyebrows knitting together.

"Well, yeah, I guess. When do _you _poof?"

"Alex... I have something to tell you." Drake led her over to her bed, and they both sat down. "This kid, Computer Jack, he used to be on our side, but whatever... He figured out how to beat the poof. Caine beat it, Sam beat it, and recently, so did I."

Alex raised her eyebrows. "Well?"

"There's a tempter... It'll make time slow down and try to get you to come with it to who knows where. But it's really some green-fanged monster, and the only way to beat it is to say "no". It you say "no", you beat the poof."

For a second, a split second, Alex just stared, her eyes blank. Then she shook her head, rubbed her eyes, and looked disbelievingly at Drake.

"I'm still here."

"Did you even hear a word I said?" Drake asked. She shook her head again.

"All I remember is you saying that you beat it... I asked you how... And then time slowed down."

"And you didn't vacate."

"How could I leave you here with Diana without backup?" she asked, her eyes sparking. "It doesn't matter what they sai-- Oh, nevermind. All that matters is that I'm here." It was his turn to shake _his _head.

"I can't believe you, Lucine."

"Same to you." She drew back her fist and punched him in the arm. "_That's _for making me freak out about the poof when you knew how to beat it all along." Then, she reached her arms around him and hugged him just as hard, if not harder, then before. "And _that's _for telling me about it anyway, even though I bet Diana couldn't wait for me to blink out."

Drake smirked, untangling himself from Alex's hug. "I bet she was. I still haven't told her that _I'm _still here." He stood up and went to the door. "I'd better go and crush her dreams. Training tomorrow?"

"Of course!"

He half-smiled, closing the door. As the door creaked shut, he heard her begin singing again.

_"Take yourself to higher places... Higher places... Higher places..."_

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**Okay! Thanks for reading, and sorry if it didn't make any sense if you haven't read TSL... And for those of you that HAVE read TSL, the events of this chapter thing will be important for later chapters of TSL! :D**

**Review! **

**:Hyperactive Lioness, or HYPE!:  
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